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GreenField API Authorization Flow

The GreenField API allows two modes of authentication to its endpoints: Basic Auth and API keys.

Basic auth

Basic auth allows you to seamlessly integrate with BTCPay Server's user system using only a traditional user/password login form. This is however a security risk if the application is a third party as they will receive your credentials in plain text and will be able to access your full account.

API Keys

BTCPay Server's Greenfield API also allows users to generate API keys with specific permissions. If you are integrating BTCPay Server into your third-party application, this is the recommended way.

Manually create an API key

Users can create a new API key in the BTCPay Server UI under Account -> Manage account -> API keys

Create API keys over the API itself

A user can create an API key for themselves using the Create API Key endpoint via Basic Auth or an unrestricted API key. Server administrators can create API keys for any user using the Create API key for user endpoint.

Interactive API key setup flow

Asking a user to generate a dedicated API key, with a specific set of permissions manually can be a bad UX experience. For this scenario, we have the Authorize User UI. This allows external applications to request the user to generate an API key with a specific set of permissions by simply generating a URL to BTCPay Server and redirecting the user to it. Additionally, there are 2 optional parameters to the endpoint which allow a more seamless integration:

  • if redirect is specified, once the API key is created, BTCPay Server redirects the user via a POST submission to the specified redirect URL, with a json body containing the API key, user id, and permissions granted.
  • if applicationIdentifier is specified (along with redirect), BTCPay Server will check if there is an existing API key associated with the user that also has this application identifier, redirect host AND the permissions required match. applicationIdentifier is ignored if redirect is not specified.

Some examples of a generated Authorize URL:

  • https://mainnet.demo.btcpayserver.org/api-keys/authorize - A simplistic request, where no permission is requested. Useful to prove that a user exists on a specific BTCPay Server instance.
  • https://mainnet.demo.btcpayserver.org/api-keys/authorize?applicationName=Your%20Application - Indicates that the API key is being generated for Your Application
  • https://mainnet.demo.btcpayserver.org/api-keys/authorize?applicationName=Your%20Application&redirect=http://gozo.com - Redirects the user via a POST to http://gozo.com with a JSON body containing the API key and its info.
  • https://mainnet.demo.btcpayserver.org/api-keys/authorize?applicationName=Your%20Application&redirect=http://gozo.com&applicationIdentifier=gozo - Attempts to match a previously created API key based on the app identifier, domain and permissions and is prompted.
  • https://mainnet.demo.btcpayserver.org/api-keys/authorize?permissions=btcpay.store.cancreateinvoice&permissions=btcpay.store.canviewinvoices - A request asking for permissions to create and view invoices on all stores available to the user
  • https://mainnet.demo.btcpayserver.org/api-keys/authorize?permissions=btcpay.store.cancreateinvoice&permissions=btcpay.store.canviewinvoices&selectiveStores=true - A request asking for permissions to create and view invoices on stores but also allows the user to choose which stores the application will have the permission to.
  • https://mainnet.demo.btcpayserver.org/api-keys/authorize?permissions=btcpay.store.cancreateinvoice&permissions=btcpay.store.canviewinvoices&strict=false - A request asking for permissions but allows the user to remove or add to the requested permission list.